Industrial PhD in Coordinated Security Analysis

If you are passionate about applied research and want to contribute towards a more sustainable, resilient and cost-efficient power system, you have come to the right place. This position will give you an unprecedented opportunity to side with Nordic TSOs and key European stakeholders for unlocking the true potential of numerical optimization and artificial intelligence in real operational scenarios.

Nordic RCC – supporting security of supply and the green energy transition

The Nordic Regional Coordination Centre (RCC) provides critical services and insights to support the national Transmission System Operators (TSOs) in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark — to ensure the efficient operation and use of the Nordic power system and high security of power supply at any time. Based in Copenhagen, Nordic RCC is one of six RCCs in Europe, equally owned by the Nordic region's four electricity TSOs: Fingrid, Statnett, Svenska Kraftnät, and Energinet.

As European power systems integrate and evolve to meet climate goals, Nordic RCC provides regional coordination, integrated services, regional insights and recommendations to the Nordic TSOs and their control centres, to support cross-border operational security 24/7.

Job description:

Do you want to work at the frontier of power system security, mathematical optimization, and AI, with direct relevance to real-world operation of the Nordic electricity system? We are seeking a highly motivated industrial PhD candidate to join a newly established research project “Nordic-Sec” funded by Innovation Fund Denmark in close collaboration with the Danish Transmission System Operator, the Technical University of Denmark and Nordic RCC.

The goal of the PhD project is to develop remedial action optimization (RAO) frameworks for future power system operations exploring innovative security criteria beyond the industry standard of N-1 analysis. Furthermore, the project aims at revealing deep connections with critical market processes such as Flow-Based capacity calculation and procurement of balancing reserves to ensure cross-border system security is maintained in the most cost-effective way according to directives from European regulations.

The position uniquely combines research on methodological aspects while paying attention to operational relevance and fairness in large-scale power systems with multiple stakeholders. Your main tasks will be to:

• Learn about Remedial Action Optimization and Coordinated Security Analysis as the foundation for your applied research.
• Formulate operational strategies for preventive and corrective remedial actions considering multi-timescale and sequential decision-making under various forms of uncertainty
• Integrate risk thresholds and probabilistic security criteria impacting the daily executions of electricity markets in the Nordic power system
• Implement, analyse and test research hypothesis with real-world operational data using Nordic RCC secure environments
• Author high-impact publications in international journals and conferences, contribute to the dissemination of the project findings and obtain the PhD degree from DTU at the end of the 3-year period.

You will be working side by side with power system engineers, data scientists and software developers delivering production-grade applications. In addition, you will have a direct link with DTU to learn about state-of-the art solutions together with other researchers in the project.

This unique combination of industry and research perspectives places you in a central scientific role in a high-impact Nordic research project with advisory from key European stakeholders, access to real operational data, strong collaboration with Nordic TSOs and the possibility to visit their offices for short external stays.  

Requirements:

We encourage you to apply even if you cover only a part of the following, provided you have obtained a MSc degree (120 ECTS points) in power systems engineering or a closely related field with a proven track record of academic excellence:

• Demonstrated experience in mathematical optimization (e.g. linear, nonlinear, stochastic, or robust optimization)
• Proficiency in Python or other programming languages supporting data analysis and visualization for large datasets
• Exposure to machine learning and AI methods applied to engineering or optimization problems
• Full professional proficiency in spoken and written English paired with excellent communication skills.
• You are result-oriented, responsible and excited to work in a culturally diverse team

What we offer

You will be joining a company of competent, diverse, and enthusiastic colleagues. We are currently 25 nationalities with over 30% women and all ages. Your daily workplace will be in our newly furnished office premises in Copenhagen Towers, Ørestad. Due to the nature of the research position, you will also have access to the DTU offices and the vibrant research environment at DTU Wind and Energy Systems in Lyngby. Your DTU mentor will be Assistant Prof. Johanna Vorwerk from the Power System Section.

At Nordic RCC we offer workplace flexibility to ensure a healthy work-life balance, including the possibility to work from home some of the time. Our values of fellowship, curiosity, respect, and transparency have been defined by all employees. They identify how we behave and shape the way we work together, and we expect you to see yourself in them.

The position is for a 3-year full-time PhD candidate employed by Nordic RCC in co-supervision with the Technical University of Denmark. The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programs at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study program, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

Additionally, the position is conditioned upon a satisfactory background check as well as a national security clearance, both of which will be facilitated by Nordic RCC. You can read more on security clearance here. Please also note that the process includes that any spouse, registered partner, cohabitant, steady partner, co-resident, child over 18 living at home and parent with the same address as the candidate must also consent to be checked.

Application deadline and contact information

Please apply online as soon as possible as we conduct interviews on a continuous basis. Applications are only accepted through our online recruitment system. Applications shall include:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc/PhD diploma in English including official description of grading scale
• List of publications
• A research statement (max. 700 words) where you outline a potential research direction that interests you.
• Contact details of two individuals who can provide a reference upon request.

To ensure a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we kindly request that you do not include a photograph in your CV or any other materials.

If you have any questions, please contact Nicola Viafora, Security Analysis Team Lead at Nordic RCC nvi@nordic-rcc.net.